Today we live in a society, which can not imagine life without expressing views on social media. Probably it does have certain advantages. Nevertheless, many participants of active discussions have already forgotten or do not even know about the developments, which unfolded in Armenia 5, 10 or 15 years ago.   

To fill the gap Mediamax presents 5/10/15 project, which introduce developments in Armenia 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

•    15 YEARS AGO: MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2006

Azerbaijan “is not against it”

On April 3 Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said that “the USA should understand and Armenia memorize that the Azerbaijani state will never agree to the dismemberment of its lands and will avert it.”

“This does not mean harshening of our position,” Azimov said.

“This has been the principal position of Azerbaijan from the very beginning, from the very first day of the conflict. We hold to this position,” said Azeri Deputy FM.

“Azerbaijan backs the idea of coexistence of Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in Nagorno-Karabakh and provision of relevant security guarantees. I believe, at some stage Azerbaijan will achieve this goal, as there is no other way,” Azeri Deputy FM added.

Araz Azimov

Photo: OSCE

“The Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh should have self-government within some limits. The Armenian side claims Azeri political forces want to expel the Armenians of Nagorno -Karabakh from this region. This is not true. We have never been against Armenians’ stay in Nagorno-Karabakh as citizens of Azerbaijan living in this region. On the contrary, we believe that these people should possess corresponding social and public-political freedoms, which have to be ensured,” Araz Azimov concluded.

•    10 YEARS AGO: MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2011

“Insanity”

On March 31 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan described Azerbaijan’s statements concerning shooting down civil airplanes flying to Stepanakert as “insanity”.

Serzh Sargsyan on March 31, 2011

Photo: Armenian President’s press office

Giving a press conference together with the President of Switzerland, Serzh Sargsyan noted that “in modern history such statements have been voiced by terrorist groups, but not by countries”.

Armenian President promised that he would be the first passenger of the first plane flying to Stepanakert.

•    5 YEARS AGO: MARCH 29 – APRIL 4, 2016

Armenia “enters the stage of maturity with faith”

On March 30 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan gave a speech at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He said in particular:

“We made essential changes in our Constitution recently. In this regard, the next one and a half - two years will be extremely important, as our state is undergoing a system change. I am convinced that this work will be productive and visible for our people. The guarantee for that is not only our political will, but also Armenian citizens, the enterprising, eager, devoted to their homeland Armenians.”

Serzh Sargsyan at Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Photo: Armenian President’s press office

The President stated this during his speech at Harvard Kennedy School of Government:

“The size of our country and our natural resources are modest, and the challenges are huge. We have to solve the big problems with small resources. This is where efficiency of management becomes extremely important. This is the strategic goal of constitutional reform. A stronger democracy, a more purposeful fight against corruption. We have a great potential here and it needs to be fully realized.”

The Kerry-Aliyev meeting

On March 30 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry underscored his concern about violence along the Line of Contact and the international border during the meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Washington.

John Kerry and Ilham Aliyev

Photo: REUTERS

“The two also discussed efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Secretary Kerry affirmed U.S. support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and underscored our concern about violence along the Line of Contact and the international border. He emphasized our commitment to working with the sides to reach a comprehensive settlement based on the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Final Act,” U.S. Department of State reported.

The Sargsyan-Biden meeting

On March 31 U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden met with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit.

Joseph Biden and Serzh Sargsyan

Photo: Armenian President’s press office

“The Vice President stressed that the United States is committed to a democratic, prosperous, and secure Armenia at peace with its neighbors. The Vice President thanked President Sargsyan for welcoming more than 20,000 Syrian refugees. Addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Vice President expressed concern about continued violence, called for dialogue, and emphasized the importance of a comprehensive settlement for the long-term stability, security, and prosperity of the region,” White House said in a press statement.

The April war

On the night of April 1 to April 2 Azerbaijan attacked the southern, south-eastern and northern sections of Contact Line, using artillery, tanks and air forces among other weaponry.

“Besides fighting at the front line, the enemy shell-fired at civilian villages and a number of permanent locations of military units. Heated skirmish is taking place on the entire NK-Azerbaijan Contact Line at this moment. Vanguard units of Defense Army returned fire; they are conducting reliable military actions now. We will provide more details on the situation at the front line in near future,” said the Defense Army in the first statement.

 

On April 2 Armenian Defense Ministry made an official statement, which said:

“Armenian Defense Ministry officially confirms information on attacks conducted by the rival on the entire NK-Azerbaijan troops contact line at night on April 1-2, 2016. The enemy utilized tanks, artillery and air forces, trying to break in the lines of NKR Defense Army and take tactical positions.

As of this moment, the enemy was thrown back with heavy losses owing to active operations of NKR Defense Army subdivisions. The confrontation continues.

Armenian Defense Ministry strongly condemns the unprecedentedly aggressive and irresponsible decision of Azerbaijani government to begin military operations, and officially declares that the continuation of those operations can lead to unpredictable results for Azerbaijan.

Photo: PAN Photo

Azerbaijani government bears the full responsibility for unprecedented escalation of situation at NK-Azerbaijan troops contact line.

Armenian Defense Ministry requests the attention of international community and especially OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for this situation, and anticipates available independent mediation to keep the situation under control and avoid large-scale military operations.”

On April 2 Armenian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the military operations initiated by Azerbaijan.

Photo: PAN Photo

“Azerbaijan’s actions towards destabilization, given its extensive nature, utilized weapons, selected targets prove that Baku is choosing to escalate the situation consistently, which makes it imperative for international community to take practical steps to restrain Azerbaijan,” Armenian MFA stated.

On April 2 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan instructed the Foreign Ministry to work toward signing a mutual military assistance agreement with Nagorno-Karabakh.

Serzh Sargsyan on April 2, 2016

Photo: Armenian President’s press office

“It is necessary to have the text of the agreement, conduct relevant discussions and send it to the National Assembly. Armenia will fully fulfill its obligation to ensure the safety of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and we also have the legal right to do so, because we are also a party to the Ceasefire Agreement signed in 1994,” the President said.

Lavrov: “Turkey continues to support terrorism”

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said On April 4 that “any ideas and attempts to take the efforts of conflict settlement outside the framework of OSCE Minsk Group will be used by those who wanted to complicate the peaceful solution, if not disrupt it altogether.”

“Surely, they exist. There are attempts made by those who don’t agree with basic approaches of peaceful and diplomatic settlement,” said Russian FM.

Answering the question on what role Turkey played in escalation of situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow did not accuse external players in provoking a burst of tension in Karabakh.

“We don’t accuse Ankara, although we heard the unilateral statements of Turkish government, of course. It’s important for our Turkish neighbors to cease the policy of interference into internal matters of other states, be that Iraq or Syria. Turkey continues to support terrorism. I cannot judge what role Ankara did or did not play regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, but I believe that it will be better for everyone, including Turkey and Turkish people, to focus on ceasing support for terrorism. I can say this boldly, and this is what we will advocate for,” said Sergey Lavrov.

Sargsyan: “Turkey is provoking a big war”

On April 4 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that Turkey, being an OSCE member country, was provoking a war in the region.

Serzh Sargsyan on April 4, 2016

Photo: Armenian President’s press office

“Azerbaijan boasts of its alleged “victory”, and Turkey, congratulates on it. While the international community, although only in words, condemns the use of force in Karabakh, Turkey is the only one that unambiguously supports Azerbaijan’s adventurism.

The statements made by Ankara before and after this situation, by which the country seems to try and compete with Azerbaijan with anti-Armenian approaches, can form a new focus of tension in the region, of which Turkey has the experience in the Middle East,” said the Armenian President during the meeting with the ambassadors of OSCE member states.

Ara Tadevosyan